A rendezvous is a planned meeting between people at a specific time and place. The word suggests something more intentional than just bumping into someone: when you arrange a rendezvous, you've agreed in advance where and when to meet.

Today, we might say two friends will rendezvous at the library after school, or that a family will rendezvous at the parking lot after splitting up at an amusement park. Spies in novels often arrange secret rendezvous to exchange information.

The word can also refer to the meeting place itself. A coffee shop might be a regular rendezvous for a book club, or a treehouse might serve as a rendezvous point for kids planning an adventure.

In space exploration, rendezvous means something even more precise: when two spacecraft meet up in orbit. The Apollo lunar module had to rendezvous with the command module orbiting the Moon, requiring incredibly exact timing and navigation. Missing a rendezvous in space could mean being stranded, showing how the word carries a sense of importance and careful planning.